Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
There wasn't enough for the dome light to be on. It's what I'd consider handheld. It's not like a tiny little thing but it doesn't weigh much.
Life in Sector 7 G.
- Thread starter Rigjockey
- Start date
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
It's light years ahead of that stupid big ass cart we had to roll across the gravel lot and wait hours to work at pumpkin.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
It's easiest to explain these terms by comparing it to something we can actually see and visualize.
Water
The capacity of a battery is measured in amp hours. For example a 100 amp load for one hour is 100 amp hours.
Car & truck batteries are rated in cold cranking amps which is how many amps a fully charged battery can deliver when it's like 5 degrees. It'll be higher than that in the summer.
Anyway pretend amps is unpressurized water, measured by volume.
Volts would be the pressure. You'll move more water through a hose if you put some pressure behind it.
Watts is a measurement of the total water flow coming out of the hose. With more pressure, (volts) you'll get more water through the hose, however a fatter hose will deliver the same flow rate with less pressure.
That's pretty much where the water comparison ends.
A battery's current state of charge can't be determined as easily as we can measure the amount of water in a tank.
So the scientists have worked out a system for determining state of charge based on the voltage reading.
It's kind of like trying to estimate how much urine is in your bladder based only on how much pressure you feel. Obviously you can just piss in a measuring cup and determine it very accurately, but at that point the bladder is empty and your measurement is how much WAS in there, not how much is in there NOW.
You'd have to fully discharge a battery & record how long it powers a light bulb or something in order to know it's current state of charge at the beginning of the test, but then the battery is totally dead afterwards.
So measuring the voltage of the unladen battery is all we can do. But the scientists have worked out the relationship between voltage and current state of charge, and provided us with charts to use.
389 Hood
Well-Known Member
I sure hope that you are making a damned good living with all of this varied knowledge.
And yes, those little jump boxes are bad ass. Even if the battery gets an internal short, it will get it started, but as soon as you touch a brake light the engine dies. It will get the vehicle started, but not maintain it running. They make them as charger/compressor/lighting/charging, combinations for under $100 for many.
And yes, those little jump boxes are bad ass. Even if the battery gets an internal short, it will get it started, but as soon as you touch a brake light the engine dies. It will get the vehicle started, but not maintain it running. They make them as charger/compressor/lighting/charging, combinations for under $100 for many.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
Nope. I totally suck at algebra, and it's a prerequisite for any type of engineering program.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
I was actually decent at algebra but once it got into calculus and trig I started to get lost. Especially trig.Nope. I totally suck at algebra, and it's a prerequisite for any type of engineering program.
389 Hood
Well-Known Member
I know that someone has to make the dreams a reality on paper, but I'm wagering that in the very near future, any person that masters a trade will be in very high demand. They could have failed elementary school and still make $200k/yr. AI isn't going to fix your car, open a clogged drain, wire in an extra room on the house, etc...
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
The "dirty" jobs are where the money is these days. Plumbers and HVAC. Even an independent mechanic.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
That's what I've been doing.
I posted the progress on the little toy crane I made for lifting the box off the TV.
That started with a crackpot idea that popped into my head when I was smoking some good sativa, then it was pencil and paper freehand drawings, then came out the tape measure, rulers, compass and square, a good calculator app on my phone, and life-size 2D and 3D sketches of individual parts. Then I made them out of wood, etc.
Conception, design/engineering, building, testing, tweaking, done. Take it apart and seal the wood parts with polyurethane and lubricate all friction points. Reassemble.
Basically.
I really wish I had a functional laptop so I can learn more about programs like Sketchup. I have a phone version but it's kind of crude and basic.
Rigjockey
In Gord we trust!
We got about two ft of snow here Sunday. I am not shoveling it if I don't have to. I drove right over the small windrow the plow left because it was powder snow.
I refuse to shovel snow if I don't have to, Part of apartment living is not cutting grass or shoveling snow.
I refuse to shovel snow if I don't have to, Part of apartment living is not cutting grass or shoveling snow.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
We've been so cold that what remains is solid. It sucks. I still haven't tried to get the semi truck out and into the road.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
I'm afraid of slipping sideways on my slab and dropping off the side, which is about a foot or so straight diwn. It would not be pretty.
I don't think I've ever had to pull off with it like this. It's not just powder anymore. That, I would just drive on through.
Later today looks like it'll finally be warm enough for salt to work so I'll throw some down.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
We all know what a semi engine sounds like when it first starts up after some difficulty in cold weather.
Anyway there are several flatbed guys who park their rigs behind my shop, about 80 feet away.
I've got the shop well insulated, so most sound doesn't make it through.
But these guys all seem to have straight pipes. The low rumble gets through.
Ordinarily it's just a quiet rumble, but when they're doing that Kazakhstani language thing in the cold, it's like "WTF IS THAT??" it sounds like a a stampede of elephants or something.
Anyway there are several flatbed guys who park their rigs behind my shop, about 80 feet away.
I've got the shop well insulated, so most sound doesn't make it through.
But these guys all seem to have straight pipes. The low rumble gets through.
Ordinarily it's just a quiet rumble, but when they're doing that Kazakhstani language thing in the cold, it's like "WTF IS THAT??" it sounds like a a stampede of elephants or something.
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Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
I will never tire of this. Lol
Hillbilly Canuck
Well-Known Member
I plowed the place yesterday afternoon and once more before I went to bed for good measure. It needs doing again this morning. If I hadn't done what I had done I would probably need help about now. You were supposed to keep that shit down there @Rigjockey
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
My Mack batteries are probably EOL. I had to boost it again today.
Might be hard to read but this time it had 11V according to the dash.
And as soon as I put the booster on 13.9V. and once again it fired right on up.
I thought I made a video of the cold start but I didn't. Apparently I didn't press the record button when I thought I did.
Might be hard to read but this time it had 11V according to the dash.
And as soon as I put the booster on 13.9V. and once again it fired right on up.
I thought I made a video of the cold start but I didn't. Apparently I didn't press the record button when I thought I did.
Duck
Sarcastic remark goes here
If a lead acid battery discharges below "it won't even crank" voltage too many times, it damages the cells.
It's microscopic chemistry class nerd stuff called sulfation.
Methinks if you want to save those mack batteries you're gonna have to remove them from the truck and bring them inside where they won't freeze, and charge them individually with one of those chargers that have the desulfation mode.
Somehow they can eat away the sulfation using high frequency pulsing currents or something, I dunno the details but all you need to know is what it says in the manual for the charger.
Anyway after they're charged fully, individually, disconnect the charger and wait a day or two & check their voltages. It could just be one battery that took a shit & is pulling down the others.
Rigjockey
In Gord we trust!
I went to the beer store and bought 2x30 packs. The young fella working the cash rings it up and it comes to half price.
I said, I don't think that's right. He looks and says no it's not. He thanks me for pointing out the error and rings it up again at the correct price and thanks me again.
Sure, I could have got beer at half price, but it would probably come out of that kid's paycheck.
I felt better about correcting him and paying full price than I would about ripping off some kid and getting "free" beer.
I said, I don't think that's right. He looks and says no it's not. He thanks me for pointing out the error and rings it up again at the correct price and thanks me again.
Sure, I could have got beer at half price, but it would probably come out of that kid's paycheck.
I felt better about correcting him and paying full price than I would about ripping off some kid and getting "free" beer.
Electric Chicken
Well-Known Member
F that I'll just spend the money for new ones.
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